I got a compliment the other day.  It might not be considered a compliment for many people, but I've learned that in this job, "normal" is turned on its head.  It's difficult to share much of what goes on in ministry for me, as most of my ministry happens in the personal times with my two guys, Davie and Blair, which aren't exactly appropriate to post in a public context.  I've been discipling these guys all semester, and have seen some amazing growth in both of them.  It's been so encouraging to see how they have opened themselves up to what the Lord has for them, knowing that they would be led into uncomfortable places and been forced to discard what they might have believed for a long time in order to accept the truth that God presents them with.

 

Anyway, after a particularly good chat with Davie, he went back and changed his Facebook status to "Davie Ingram is officially screwed up...thanks Chris."  He also told me that as he came back onto the UCSA base, where they all stay, he ran into Blair, who asked him how he was doing.  "I'm pretty messed up," was Davie's response.  "Chris Via strikes again," was Blair's comment back at Davie.  

 

In any other job, I think, this conversation would not be something to pat myself on the back about.  If I were in a business setting, and one of my employees mentioned that I really messed him up, there would be a definite problem that would need to be fixed.  Or if I were in the service industry, and a customer came away saying the kind of things that Davie and Blair were saying about me, I probably wouldn't have a job for very much longer.  Even if I were a normal teacher, I would know that I were doing my job effectively if my pupil was given illumination, not further confusion. 

 

To be honest, though, that's one of the things I love about what I do, and about how God works.  Our God is in the business of healing and restoration - the whole of Scripture speaks to it.  We are a world broken individuals, and the Lord is on a constant quest to heal us of our brokenness and bring us closer to Him and more into the men and women that He calls us to be.  This is rarely an easy thing, as it causes to give up ways that we know, that we find comfortable, that we even cling to.  And as the Lord continues His healing process, discomfort inevitably ensues, because we've never come in contact with a love quite like this in our lives - a love that accepts us where we are, but constantly calls us higher, knowing that it's always for our good, and for the glory of God.  Consequently, if I'm being faithful to the responsibility that God has given me, I can't allow my guys to be comfortable. 

 

So when I hear Davie and Blair "bemoan" their less than static lives, I can only smile and know that I'm fulfilling the call that God has on my life.  And, from my own experience, I know that the lack of stability that these guys are going through right now is bringing them to a deeper understanding of who they are, and, more importantly, who God is.